Question 1

Certainly, Secretary Napolitano claimed "the system worked" after the foiled "underwear bomber" attempt on Christmas 2009, but

Accepted Answer

A)  the bomber was caught by alert passengers, not the DHS. 
B)  the bomb was a dud, anyway, and would not have caused any damage. 
C)  he was stopped by the TSA, an agency proven to be very inefficient, so reforms are still necessary. 
D)  most of the media outlets said it was a fluke and anecdotal evidence to "prove" a point.

Question 2

The reforms in the intelligence community

Accepted Answer

A)  have fixed most things that were wrong, and we now share information a lot better between agencies. 
B)  created many redundant organizations in order to ensure that all agencies arrive at the correct answer. 
C)  were held back by politicians concerned about the privacy of U.S. citizens. 
D)  did not go far enough and may have even made things worse.

Question 3

Why did Director of the CIA, David Petraeus resign in 2012?

Accepted Answer

A)  Petraeus resigned because the political gridlock had been preventing anything from getting done, and so he didn't see it as useful. 
B)  He resigned after the FBI informed the DNI James Clapper they were investigating Petraeus for having an extramarital affair. 
C)  He provided the information that the attack on the U.S. Embassy and Ambassador happened because of an anti-Islamic video, which most people argue was false. 
D)  Terrorists starting making personal threats against him and his family.

Question 4

Why did Congress go overboard creating such a large agency as the DHS?

Accepted Answer

A)  The DHS has grown to spend over a half a trillion dollars annually. 
B)  The DHS, as per the PATRIOT Act, has been spying on Americans through a program called prism. 
C)  The DHS is responsible for running the intelligence community. 
D)  The DHS does many things that have little relationship to Homeland Security.

Question 5

Lawrence Wright in his book, The Looming Tower, asserts that the Sudanese minister of state for defense, Major General Elfatih Erwa met with the American ambassador to Sudan, Timothy Carney, and offered to hand bin Laden over to the United States. His offer was declined.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 6

Which of the following highlights a way that 9/11 could have been prevented?

Accepted Answer

A)  Weapons could have been allowed on planes so that passengers would not be unarmed in the case of a terrorist hijacking. 
B)  The reason the terrorists used planes was because they were cheap. Airline fees could have been raised and it most likely would have costed too much. 
C)  9/11 was completely unpreventable and the terrorists would have found some way or another to blow up the World Trade Center. 
D)  9/11 could have been prevented if the CIA, FBI, and National Security Agency had worked together and shared information.

Question 7

Less than half of cities with a population between 25,000 people and 50,000 have SWAT teams, but those that do are armed by DHS grants.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 8

Which organization now runs the intelligence community using an approach intended to reduce redundancies among the various intelligence agencies by using 17 national intelligence managers designated by a region or domain, such as cybersecurity or finance?

Accepted Answer

A)  CIA 
B)  ODNI 
C)  NSA 
D)  DHS

Question 9

The Department of Defense essentially was homeland security before 9/11.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 10

What was the purpose of SPOT and FAST?

Accepted Answer

A)  Any tangible thing pertinent to a terrorism investigation is gathered and roving wiretaps permit the government to obtain intelligence surveillance orders that identify neither the person nor the facility. 
B)  It ensures that the threat of liability does not deter 'potential sellers from developing, commercializing, and deploying' anti-terrorism technologies. 
C)  It authorizes cybersecurity attacks and the military has been drafting cyber rules of engagement. 
D)  It was created to use behavior profiling and things like body temperature and blink rate to discern mal-intent of a person.

Question 11

Which of the following explains the expression "If you see something, say something?"

Accepted Answer

A)  People considering acts of terrorism often talk to their friends about their beliefs, who say nothing to them out of fear of becoming a target. 
B)  The media needs help reporting on things that could be skewed to terrorism, so if a disaster happens people are asked to let the media know. 
C)  It means to report 'suspicious activity' to state and local law enforcement agencies. 
D)  The government asked for the help of U.S. citizens to invent technologies that may prevent terrorism, so if someone has an idea, he or she should report it to the government.

Question 12

What did Secretary of State Colin Powell argue before the United Nations Security Council about in regards to Iraq?

Accepted Answer

A)  Colin Powell said that there was no need to invade Iraq because there was clear evidence that Iraq did not have WMDs. 
B)  He said that it might be necessary to ensure the freedom of the people of Iraq and to support a Democratic government in the Middle East so that we might have some allies there. 
C)  He said that it was a hostile regime that might share its weapons of mass destruction (which everyone believed Iraq possessed including) with terrorists. 
D)  Fearing for the lives of American troops, he said that we should not risk sending military in because the war that would follow simply couldn't be worth it.

Question 13

Previous to 9/11, how was terrorism executed?

Accepted Answer

A)  Terrorism was random, occurred mostly overseas, was infrequent and if it happened an agency would respond, and justice would be served. 
B)  Terrorism previous to 9/11 was mostly from separatist movements such as the IRA because religious terror had not yet come into existence. 
C)  Terrorism was executed by a few consistent groups, but it was nothing compared to the scaling threat of terrorism that we now face. 
D)  Acts of terror were committed against other Western civilizations that were closer to the Middle East.

Question 14

In August 2012 a stranded jet-skier climbed across a fence at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and was immediately arrested because of his noticeable wet suit.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 15

Before 9/11, with the 1990s approach, most of our concerns were with limited terrorist attacks in the United States, while most of the authorities' focus was on overseas bombings and airplane hijackings.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 16

In a decade DHS has spent nearly $35 Billion dollars on various grants to prevent terrorism such as purchasing an armored truck with a rotating gun turret in a city averaging almost no homicides annually. What have the antiterrorism results been?

Accepted Answer

A)  The armored vehicles have been useful in stopping domestic terrorism, which is not really antiterrorism, but still helpful. 
B)  Most terrorists see the advanced technology and pick different cities, in the same way that having armed citizens prevents break-ins. 
C)  It is because of such weaponry that cities have no homicides or terrorist threats; to put it like that is backwards. 
D)  The results have not stopped terrorism and so are probably a waste of money.

Question 17

What did a congressional joint study by the House Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure and Oversight and Government Reform in 2011 conclude about flying?

Accepted Answer

A)  Flights are very susceptible to mid-air hijackings when they turn because they are forced to slow down. 
B)  Nothing can be done to prevent terrorism on air planes; when one security hole is patched, another quickly presents itself. 
C)  People have become more wary of Middle Eastern individuals and are more likely to start fights with them on planes. 
D)  Flying is no safer than it was before 9/11.

Question 18

What is the problem with a governmental overreaction to terrorism?

Accepted Answer

A)  Agencies are created that want to continue existing even when they are no longer necessary and they stress the threat to increase funds and personnel. 
B)  Overreactions to terrorism are usually inclined to give too many freedoms to the people in exchange for removing security. 
C)  The government is amassing a huge national debt and trying to solve terrorism problems only makes it worse. 
D)  The United States has become almost completely militarized and is too focused on gun ownership.

Question 19

What happened to the Hart-Rudman commission?

Accepted Answer

A)  The commission found that few security holes were present and was later blamed for not warning anyone about 9/11. 
B)  As is often the case in Washington when faced with difficult problems, the commission was created, studied the issues and made recommendations that then died. 
C)  They recommended the PATRIOT Act, but the bill was extremely unpopular until after 9/11. 
D)  They found a few reforms to make and these reforms were implemented, but they did not go far enough.

Question 20

FEMA was generally regarded as a successful agency before the events of 9/11.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Exam 11: Homeland Security: Before and After 9/11

Certainly, Secretary Napolitano claimed "the system worked" after the foiled "underwear bomber" attempt on Christmas 2009, but

The reforms in the intelligence community

Why did Director of the CIA, David Petraeus resign in 2012?

Why did Congress go overboard creating such a large agency as the DHS?

Lawrence Wright in his book, The Looming Tower, asserts that the Sudanese minister of state for defense, Major General Elfatih Erwa met with the American ambassador to Sudan, Timothy Carney, and offered to hand bin Laden over to the United States. His offer was declined.

Which of the following highlights a way that 9/11 could have been prevented?

Less than half of cities with a population between 25,000 people and 50,000 have SWAT teams, but those that do are armed by DHS grants.

Which organization now runs the intelligence community using an approach intended to reduce redundancies among the various intelligence agencies by using 17 national intelligence managers designated by a region or domain, such as cybersecurity or finance?

The Department of Defense essentially was homeland security before 9/11.

What was the purpose of SPOT and FAST?

Which of the following explains the expression "If you see something, say something?"

What did Secretary of State Colin Powell argue before the United Nations Security Council about in regards to Iraq?

Previous to 9/11, how was terrorism executed?

In August 2012 a stranded jet-skier climbed across a fence at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and was immediately arrested because of his noticeable wet suit.

Before 9/11, with the 1990s approach, most of our concerns were with limited terrorist attacks in the United States, while most of the authorities' focus was on overseas bombings and airplane hijackings.

In a decade DHS has spent nearly $35 Billion dollars on various grants to prevent terrorism such as purchasing an armored truck with a rotating gun turret in a city averaging almost no homicides annually. What have the antiterrorism results been?

What did a congressional joint study by the House Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure and Oversight and Government Reform in 2011 conclude about flying?

What is the problem with a governmental overreaction to terrorism?

What happened to the Hart-Rudman commission?

FEMA was generally regarded as a successful agency before the events of 9/11.